Childhood obesity is a serious nationwide health problem requiring urgent attention and a population-based prevention approach so that all children may grow up physically and emotionally healthy.
Preventing obesity involves promoting healthful eating behaviors and regular physical activity.
In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued the Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity.
In 2002, Congress charged the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with developing a prevention-focused action plan to decrease the number of obese children and youth in the United States. Since the 1970’s the prevalence (or percentage) of obesity has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. At present, approximately nine million children over six years of age are obese.
The latest reports from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta say that Georgia is the fattest state in the country, with a 101% increase. The findings also states that the major contributor to obesity is physical inactivity.
Unfortunately, our sedentary lifestyles have wreaked havoc on our health and our children’s health. It is now estimated that over six million kids in the U.S. are seriously overweight and that five million more are on the verge of joining them. Many health experts believe one child in three are now overweight or at risk of becoming so.
According to experts from the American Dietetic Association, America is now the world’s fattest nation on Earth, and the experts also agree that if we continue to eat the way we do now, by the year 2030 everyone in America will be obese!